BILL NUMBER: AB 598	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   830
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 8, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 7, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 2, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 20, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 15, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 14, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MARCH 25, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Soto and Lempert

                        FEBRUARY 19, 1999

   An act to amend Section 51872 of, and to add Sections 51870,
51871.3, 51871.4, and 51871.5 to, the Education Code, relating to
education technology.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 598, Soto.  Education technology:  Commission on Technology in
Learning.
   (1) Existing law, the Digital High School Education Technology
Grant Act of 1997, provides one-time installation grants and ongoing
technology support and staff training grants to school districts and
county offices of education for projects at high schools.
   Existing law establishes the California Technology Assistance
Project to administer a regionalized network of technical assistance
to schools and school districts on the implementation of education
technology.  The California Technology Assistance Project is composed
of regional consortia that work collaboratively with school
districts and county offices of education in order to meet locally
defined technology-based needs, as identified in the certified
technology plans for their client school districts.
   This bill would establish the Commission on Technology in Learning
to make policy recommendations to the State Board of Education in
areas that include statewide planning for education technology,
including a statewide master plan for use of education technology in
the elementary and secondary instructional program, dissemination of
technology resources, and development of guidelines for ongoing
comprehensive statewide evaluation of all technology,
telecommunications, and distance learning programs that directly and
indirectly affect California education in kindergarten and grades 1
to 12, inclusive.  The bill would provide for the appointment of
members of the commission.
   The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the
current practice of developing education technology plans for each
funding program should be replaced with a comprehensive local
planning process that will enable school districts to apply for
grants on an ongoing basis and assist in utilizing available
education technology program and would require a school district to
have a technology plan as a precondition of receiving any technology
grant administered by the State Department of Education.
   (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to
assist the State Board of Education on education technology plans,
practices, programs, and activities, provide statewide coordination
and evaluation of technology programs and resources, and advance the
use of technology in the curriculum and in the administration of
elementary and secondary schools.
   This bill would require the department to provide staff support to
the Commission for Technology in Learning.
   (3) Under the bill the commission would terminate and would have
no further duties on January 1, 2003.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a
Commission on Technology in Learning to provide policy
recommendations to the State Board of Education in areas related to
technology planning, dissemination, and evaluation, which would
carefully consider input from state, regional, and local interests.
The Legislature finds and declares that a Commission on Technology in
Learning would provide an appropriate venue for public input and
dialogue in the decisionmaking process.
  SEC. 2.  Section 51870 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   51870.  For the purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
   (a) "Commission" means the Commission on Technology in Learning
established by Section 51871.3.
   (b) "Technology" means technology-based materials, equipment,
systems, and networks.
  SEC. 3.  Section 51871.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   51871.3.  The Commission on Technology in Learning is hereby
established to make policy recommendations to the State Board of
Education in areas including, but not necessarily limited to, all of
the following:
   (a) Statewide planning for technology, including a statewide
master plan for use of education technology in California's
elementary and secondary instructional program which, at a minimum,
includes all of the following:
   (1) A process for annually updating the plan according to changing
educational needs and emerging technological developments.
   (2) The use of multiple technologies.
   (3) The coordination of technology programs with other appropriate
state education programs including programs for blind and disabled
pupils.
   (4) The integration of technology to assure alignment with state
and federal education initiatives where appropriate.
   (5) The active involvement of business and industry.
   (6) A comprehensive evaluation process that is aligned with the
state's overall educational program evaluation system.
   (7) Provisions for working with the California Technology
Assistance Project and other agencies, as appropriate, to implement
policies of the State Board of Education and programs of the State
Department of Education to aid in the use of technology in the
delivery of instruction.
   (8) Strategies for seeking and leveraging public and private
funding.
   (9) Consideration of the role of education technology to
supplement California's learning improvement objectives.
   (10) An evaluation of the distribution of existing technology
resources and recommendations on ensuring access for all pupils.
   (11) Comprehensive discussion of the effectiveness of using
technology as a learning tool and the appropriate uses of technology
in the delivery of instruction.
   (12) It is the intent of the Legislature that the statewide master
plan for use of education technology be incorporated into any future
comprehensive kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, statewide
education master plan.
   (b) Dissemination of technology resources, including all of the
following:
   (1) The development, identification, and access to information
about programs, products, and practices that meet established
technical criteria and state adopted content standards.
   (2) The development of guidelines for the regional and statewide
dissemination of information and services through the California
Technology Assistance Project.
   (c) The development of guidelines to aid in the ongoing
comprehensive statewide evaluation of technology, telecommunications,
and distance learning programs that directly and indirectly affect
California education in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
  SEC. 4.  Section 51871.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   51871.4.  (a) The Commission on Technology in Learning shall
consist of 14 members who shall be appointed as follows:
   (1) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall appoint two
representatives in accordance with the following:
   (A) One of the representatives shall be from a county office of
education.
   (B) One of the representatives shall be a public member from an
organization representing California school boards.
   (2) The Governor shall appoint one practicing public school
administrator from an organization representing California
administrators, one business representative with experience in
applications of technology, one practicing public school elementary
teacher from an organization representing California teachers, one
library media specialist from an association representing library
media specialists, one public member with expertise in the
application of technology, and one  practicing public school
secondary teacher from an organization representing technology-using
educators.  The Governor, in consultation with the President of the
University of California, the Chancellor of the California State
University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges,
shall appoint two additional members representing public
postsecondary institutions.
   (3) The Senate Committee on Rules shall appoint one business
representative with experience in applications of technology and one
practicing public school  administrator with expertise in technology
infrastructure.
   (4) The Speaker of the Assembly shall appoint one business
representative with experience in applications of technology and one
practicing public school elementary teacher from an organization
representing California teachers.
   (5) The President of the State Board of Education shall appoint a
nonvoting liaison to the Commission on Technology in Learning.  The
Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission shall
appoint a nonvoting liaison to the Commission on Technology in
Learning.  The Executive Director of the California Postsecondary
Education Commission shall appoint a nonvoting liaison to the
Commission on Technology in Learning.
   (b) No private business entity shall have more than one of its
officers or employees serving as a member of the commission.  In
making the appointments, the Governor, the President pro Tempore of
the Senate, and the Speaker of the Assembly shall consult and
cooperate so that not more than one representative of any single
private business entity is serving on the commission at any time.
   (c) Members shall be knowledgeable about applications of
technology in an educational setting and shall be selected based on
documentation of that experience.
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the members of the
commission broadly represent the unique perspectives of all of the
stakeholders in a collaborative process.
   (e) Members shall serve without compensation, except that members
shall be reimbursed for necessary reasonable expenses incurred  for
attending meetings of the commission.
   (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the members will be
subject to the conflict-of-interest provisions of the Political
Reform Act of 1974, as set forth in Title 9 (commencing with Section
81000) of the Government Code.
   (g) Meetings of the Commission on Technology in Learning shall be
open to the public and shall be conducted in accordance with the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code).
  SEC. 5.  Section 51871.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   51871.5.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that education
technology planning be accomplished in the most comprehensive manner
possible.  To that end, the current practice of developing education
technology plans for each funding program should be replaced with a
comprehensive local planning process that will  enable school
districts to apply for grants on an ongoing basis and assist in
utilizing available education technology program.
   (b) By October 1, 2000, the commission, in conjunction with the
Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission, shall
recommend guidelines and criteria to the State Board of Education for
assisting school districts in the preparation of three- to five-year
technology plans for the integration of technology into the school
curriculum.  At a minimum, the technology plans shall be integrated,
where allowed by law, with School Improvement Plans and Title I Plans
and include a staff development and technical support component.
   (c) On or after January 1, 2002, a school district shall have a
technology plan as a precondition of receiving any technology grant
administered by the State Department of Education.  This requirement
may be waived by the State Board of Education if it is determined
that the applicant school district made a good faith effort to
develop a local technology plan, but for reasons beyond its control,
the district cannot develop the plan before receipt of the technology
grant.
   (d) The State Department of Education shall maintain a record of
school districts that have three- to five-year education technology
plans and shall make that information available to any interested
public agencies.
  SEC. 6.  Section 51872 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   51872.  (a) The State Department of Education shall administer
this article.  The duties of the State Department of Education shall
include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
   (1) Assisting the State Board of Education on education technology
plans, policies, programs, and activities.
   (2) Providing support staff to the Commission on Technology in
Learning to make recommendations to the State Board of Education.
   (3) Providing for the statewide coordination, planning, and
evaluation of education technology programs and resources.
   (4) Advancing the use of technology in the curriculum and in the
administration of elementary and secondary schools.
   (b) Funding to support the activities described in subdivision
(a), including educational technology services which are more
efficiently and effectively delivered at a statewide level, shall be
provided to the State Department of Education through the annual
Budget Act.  Based upon recommendations from the California
Technology Assistance Project and other interested parties, the State
Board of Education shall fund school districts and county offices of
education to provide centralized statewide educational technology
services that address locally defined needs but that are more
efficiently and effectively provided on a statewide basis.
  SEC. 7.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission
on Technology in Learning established pursuant to Section 51871.3 of
the Education Code shall terminate and shall have no further duties
on January 1, 2003, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted
before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends that date.
  SEC. 8.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the Commission on
Technology in Learning established pursuant to Section 51871.3 of
the Education Code commence meeting on or after April 2, 2000, unless
the commission is authorized by the Governor's Y-2000 Executive
Committee to meet before that date.
